Assistantships & Residency

Your offer of admission to Washington State University and the Department of Chemistry may include financial support in the form of an assistantship valued at approximately $38,000 per year. When you are supported on an assistantship your gross salary will be about ~$2,156.50 per month (~$1,600 take home depending on taxes withheld), a waiver will cover your tuition up to $5,445 per semester, and health insurance (~$2,100 per year). All students on an assistantship are required to pay a residual fee (i.e. fees not covered by the tuition waiver) each semester of approximately $1,000. An additional tuition waiver for non-residents will also be paid ($6,713 per semester). Domestic non-residents of the State of Washington will be expected to become a resident of the State of Washington as soon as you are eligible (after one year). See more on residency requirements here. An additional tuition waiver for non-residents will cover out-of-state tuition ($6,713 per semester) for one year. Domestic students who fail to gain residency after one year will be responsible for covering out-of-state tuition ($6,713 per semester) until residency is established. International applications must demonstrate high spoken English proficiency to be offered a teaching assistantship. You will also have financial support throughout the summers as long as you maintain satisfactory academic progress. During your first year you will most likely be supported on a teaching assistantship that involves teaching two laboratory sections per week, class preparation and grading, and two hours of office time for student consultation. By the end of your first year you will have settled into a research group and are often supported as a research assistant.

Scholarships/Fellowships/Training Programs

The chemistry department has a number of scholarships designated specifically for graduate students. We awarded almost $20,000 in academic scholarships to our current students each year. In addition, for the past two years we have awarded two $4,000 Abelson scholarships from the College of Arts and Sciences to the best applicants to our graduate program. This award is renewable for a second year, bringing the total value to $8,000. The Edward Wagner scholarship is awarded to one of our outstanding graduate students who has passed preliminary exams and is nearing graduation.Departmental of Chemistry Scholarships